Fabric wall and ceiling supporting means



Jan. 19, 1965 l. V. ABADJIEFF FABRIC WALL AND CEILING SUPPORTING MEANSFiled Jan. 14, 1963 FIG- FIG.8

FIG-9 v INVENTOR.

IVAN v. ABADJIEFF ATTORNEY properly stretched conditions.

United States i Patent FABRKC WALL AND CEILING SUPPQRTING V MEANS f IvanV. Ahadjiefi, 2h Bergiin Lane, Worcester, Mass.

Filed Jan. 14, 1963, er. No. 251,326 116323118. 7 (ill. Mil-3%) Thisinvention relates to a new andimproved device for improved holding offabric ceilings and walls under advantages to fabric ceilingsparticularly as well asto fabric walls but heretofore the process ofapplying [the fabric has always been extremely cumbersome and jtimeconsuming which'results in making it very expensive.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide meanswhereby such ceilings and wall'fabrics can There are a great many.

depressed membef-SSadding to the 'springine'ss of the strip-like member.Each arm 34 and 36 terminates in an inwardly directed; shorthook as;at40 and 42.1 One arm, that at 34, is provided with cloth holding meanssuch as struck-up spikes or sharp points 44 for rigidly holding thefabric to the clip, the-points extending'to the left.

in addition .each clip is provided with a pivoted'lock generallyindicated at46 and some. means such asa rivet 48 can be used torotatively mount the lock d-6 to .the i V v springy clip member 34, 36for instanceat the;bottom-- of member.38.. This lock is in the form of astrip having a length so that the ends thereof impinge upon the inside.

he applied quickly andeasily in an improved manner and.

at less cost.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means I as aforesaidby which the fabric can be applied under required tension, i.e., abouttwenty pounds per linear inch, which is necessary in order to providethe optimum conditions for holding thefabric in positionyand theprovision of novel channeland cooperating locking clip means foraccomplishing the purpose of putting up the fabric quickly and easilyand under uniform conditions of "tension.

Another-object of the invention isto provide ability'to loosen thefabric at any desired location for position and tension correctionwithout any damage to the cloth or the locking clip means.

The invention 'further relates to arrangements and aspects of.the'terminal portions oflegs 34 and 36 as is.

shown in FIG.v l. The entire clip is applied in open condition as inFIG. 5,-by a tool which isfshown in FIG. 2 and indicated bythe'referencenumeral 50. This'tool is provided witha magnet at 52 and a pair ofprojections 54, 54.

which correspond to openings 56,56 in the lock 46. The

tool may have a convenient handle.57."IThe ends of the lock are roundedoff as M58, 58 to provide for. atight I wedging action of thelock 46relative to the ends of the 1 springy arms 34 and 36, and this provides.a cam lock for use .ineither. rotative direction. 1

. In the applicatio'n of thedevice, the. channel 16 is first positionedand fastened as stated. edge of the cloth is then secured with respectto thepoints" 44 :of'theleg combinations of parts whichwill behereinafter described fication md illustrating the clip inopencondition;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a modified channel;

FIG. 7 isa view partly in sec'tion illustrating a modification of thefabric holdingclip;

FIG. 8 is a view in side elevation illustrating'a further modificationof the fabric holding strip;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view, looking in the direction of arrow 9 inFIG; 8, and

for applying the fabric holding FIG. 10 is a view inelevation, partly insection, showing 7 a modification of the'device'of'FIG. 7.

Referring nowtoFIG; 1, there is shown a representation of a ceiling 10having an adjoining wall at 125 The a ceiling is to be covered with afabric such as canvas indicated by the reference. numeral, 14. T

A rigid elongated channel member. generally indicated by the referencenumeral 16 is applied byffasteners such as at 18 to the ceiling andwall. :This' channel-is pre- Q f ferably extruded and is relativelystrong andrigidand'it extends in lengths alongithe entire sides or endsof the room. j

This channel comprises a base 24) and a pair of space'd arms 22 and 24which in this case extend outwardly at an angle from the'base 2t). Botharms terminate in inv Wardly directed flanges 26, 28. a V

positioned.

'A series of fabric holding clips'are now Each clip comprises a springystrip-like member. which i i can be made of any suitable material, thesame including a pair of arms 34 and 36 which are joined bya centrally340i the spring clip. The tool 50 is then applied to'the lock enteringprojections 54 into holes {56"and holding the lock by-the magnet. Thelock is magnetic or has a magneticportion and is originally locatedtransversely of- 'the'spring clip. I Theclip is then thrust into thechannel with the'hook at 42engaging behind the curved'edge at 23. Theproportions of the device arezsuch that it then takessome force to snapthe springy arm' 36'past :the

curved portion 26, of arm '22 of channel 16, but when i this is done,the end 4t). of arm 36 snaps into the recess formed byflange 26 and thispositions theclip and thefabric. Then the tool 54 is turned toengage thecam surfaces 58 of locking member 46-withthe' two hooks 42 and ifijamming' :the same rigidly against the insidei surfaces of the legs 22and 24, so that the fabric holding spring clip is very solidly locked inposition, this being" shown in F16 1, The clip can be positioneddirectly hand without use of the tool, which can thenbe used simplyto'turn the lock.

The fabric I i-now being anchored across one end or 'along one' side ofthe'room, a similar action-is carried out-withf'respect. to-the'oppositeside of'the room, but in this case thefa'bric will be extended at theside of the channel which is indicated by' the broken line 60 (FIG. 1')so" that the operator can pull to therdesired extent downwardly in thedirection of arrow 62in order to have the correct tension applied to'the fabric across the room. Thecloth is capable of moving in thisdirection because-it slides over the pointsd i 'on jthefclip arm' 34,

. but the points will not allow-the cloth to. be retracted.

itively trimmed off; ornamental i I If desired the books 4%) and 42 0fthe spring clips can be notched (or depressed)v as indicated at 68 forthe snap-in reception of projectionsfidon, the edge por tions of thelock46 in order to. make positive locking.

When the correct tension 'isreached, then'theo'perator applies the clips"to thisside of the 'room. This; adds tension to the cloth, but this canbe varied by loosening the :fabrics'and adjusting it on the clip,

. When the fabric has been installed, a snap cover in elongated form asindicat'e'datdd and havingthe inwardly directed snapends .66 isapplied-"over the" portions 26 and 28 of the channel 16 forming acomplete cover.

itself so that the edges of the ceiling, or wall; are attrac- Thevmembers 6d can be plain: or]

strip covering all of the clips as well as the channel 3,165,117Patented Jain 19., 1965 A. modification of the channel is shown insection in FIG. 6. In'this case the channel which is indicated at 72 isprovided with a relatively thick pair of outside legs 74 and 76 for thereception'of fasteners 78, 78,:and'in" this case it will be seen thatthe legs74, 76 cannot be spread under any circumstances. Otherwise thesame locking clips as above described, finish'strip, etc. are used inthe same way a sabove stated, the channel 72 having reentrant corners orthe like as'at'77 which: are equivalent to the terminal portion's 26 and28 of the Channel 16. 7

.Another modification is shown in FIG. wherein the spring clip havingthe arms 80, 82 instead of engaging,

I the cloth directly is provided with an intermediate. solid j -member84' having struck-up points .86 similar' to those at 44. In this casethe locking member .is indicated at 88 but instead of having arivet143'it has a bolt or the like90 Whichuponbeing turned in the appropriate adirection will cause the solid member 84 to risegthus in It isQto beunder! addition pulling the cloth tighter.

stood however that this fclip (FIG. 7) .may'be'used in.

the channel 16 or thelchannel 74.

FIGS.:8 and' 9'also show a modification wherein the spring cliphas asolid side. 92 which is not springy,

and a springy arm 94. In this case the action is similar to that abovedescribed but the solid portion 92 is in-.

. serted first and it can. have .cloth holding points .96 if'desi'redequivalent to those 'at. 44. The springy member 94 is then pushed intothe channel, either that shown,

at 16 or, at .72;.and the half-locking member 98 is' then turnedas'fromflotted'lineposition in FIG. 9 to .the solid line portion inFIGS." 8. and .9. Otherwise however the construction and operationoflthe parts is the same-as above described. 1 Referring now to FIG. 10therenisfshown adevice similar .to that-of FIG; -7. In FIG.; IO'theeIipisgenerally indicated at.100 and the'lo'ckat102. The lock has 7 afastener such as 104 which is similar to that at 90 in FIG. 7 and acloth-holding plate 106 similar to that at 84 in FIG. 7is provided withpoints 10.8 to hold thecloth; However,in FIG. 10 the plate 106 isrecessed.

originally in depressions 110 and 112 formedin the arms of the clip,100-so thatthe points originally do not im-.

pinge upon the cloth in any Way until .the fastener d1 '104 is turned.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages. thereof, I do"not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise thanas set forth in the claims, but what I claim is: v Q i 1; Apparatus forstretching 'and mounting a. fabric same .into tight locking engagementwith the inside surfaces of'the outwardly directed arms of the channel,locking the spring clips in place within the channel .and substantiallypermanently holding the cloth of the fabric,.the locks each having alength greater than the distance between the inclined portions at theends of the spring clips. 1 1

. 2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein each :lock 1 is pivotallymounted on its individual spring clip and is rotated into and 'out ofengagement with the portions of 1 the spring clips adjacent theinclinedend portionsthereof.

I 3. Apparatus as described in claim 1 including 'an'elongated finishstrip including'side edge terminal portions. adapted to snap onto theinwardly directed terminal pertions of the side edges of the channel.

4. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 including fabric holding points onthe spring 'clip;

- 5. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 including Ifabric". {holding pointson oneportion of each spring clip, said.

fabricholding points being arranged in a direction oppo.-. ,siteto theextent of 'the fabric panel over the superstructure preventing loss oftensionof'the panel.

6. Apparatusas recited in claim 1 wherein said lock the springclips I 7.Apparatus as recited in claim 1 including a-solid ends are cam-shapedfor providing increasing tension on V member mounted on said.spring'clipand 'means on the spring clip exerting pressure on .the solid member,urging;

- the same away from'the spring clip, the fabric being adapted to bedisposed over the solid portion whereby extra tension is applied to thefabricby saidmeans.

8. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the legs of i the channel aresolid and include the means for securing the channel to thesuperstructure.

9. Apparatus as recited 'in claim 1 wherein said spring clip includes agenerally central loop increasing the spring iness of the legs of theclip thereof.

.10. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 including a separate I plate on thespring strip, fabric holding points on said tions receiving saidseparate plate therein.

panel on a superstructure .comprisin'g'an elongated, sub

stantially rigid channel, said channel comprising 'a'base memberandapair of spaced side'edge :arms extending outwardly therefrom at anangle thereto,means to secure. the channel to the superstructure,saidqarms eachfter minatingin an inwardly directed portion extendingalong the length of the channel, I a g H and a series of strip-likeresilient elongated spring clips for engagement with the fabricpa'neladjacent anedge thereof; eachsaid sprin'gflclip terminating at its endsininclined portions engaging in and "behind said inwardly directedterminal portions of the channels, said spring clipseach having anoriginal length greater thanthedistance between the terminal. 1

I portions of; the channel.

' a and a lock having endsj engaging. the inclined, portions.

'at the ends of said spring'clips and forcing the said plate with thepoints'upwardly into contact with the BENJAMIN Examiner;

separate plate, and means on the spring clip for moving said plate withthe fabric.

11. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 including a separate plate on thespring strip, fabric holding points on said separate plate, and means onthe spring clip for moving fabric, said spring clip being provided withindented por- References Cited by the Erraminer UNITED. STATES PATENTS195,849 Seybold; .11- 215-53 :VHARRISONR. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

points upwardly into contact with the

1. APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING AND MOUNTING A FABRIC PANEL ON ASUPERSTRUCTURE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID CHANNEL, SAIDCHANNEL COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER AND A PAIR OF SPACED SIDE EDGE ARMSEXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM AT AN ANGLE THERETO, MEANS TO SECURE THECHANNEL TO THE SUPERSTRUCTURE, SAID ARMS EACH TERMINATING IN AN INWARDLYDIRECTED PORTION EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE CHANNEL, AND A SERIESOF STRIP-LIKE RESILIENT ELONGATED SPRING CLIPS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THEFABRIC PANEL ADJACENT AN EDGE THEREOF, EACH SAID SPRING CLIP TERMINATINGAT ITS ENDS IN INCLINED PORTIONS ENGAGING IN AND BEHIND SAID INWARDLYDIRECTED TERMINAL PORTIONS OF THE CHANNELS, SAID SPRING CLIPS EACHHAVING AN ORIGINAL LENGTH GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TERMINALPORTIONS OF THE CHANNEL. AND A LOCK HAVING ENDS ENGAGING THE INCLINEDPORTIONS AT THE ENDS OF SAID SPRING CLIPS AND FORCING THE SAME INTOTIGHT LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INSIDE SURFACES OF THE OUTWARDLYDIRECTED ARMS OF THE CHANNEL, LOCKING THE SPRING CLIPS IN PLACE WITHINTHE CHANNEL ANS SUBSTANTIALLY PERMANENTLY HOLDING THE CLOTH OF THEFABRIC, THE LOCKS EACH HAVING A LENGTH GREATER THEN THE DISTANCE BETWEENTHE INCLINED PORTIONS AT THE ENDS OF THE SPRING CLIPS.